


Speaking in Hands

by Mortimer_Dead_Sea



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: ASL, Agender Frisk, American Sign Language, Dad Gaster, Dadster, Frisk and Gaster use ASL, Implied Aromantic Papyrus, Italics are ASL, M/M, Mute Frisk, No Spoken Dialogue, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Frisk, Older brother Sans, Younger Brother Papyrus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 16:37:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7900012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mortimer_Dead_Sea/pseuds/Mortimer_Dead_Sea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk finds a door in Waterfall and opens it to find a Skeleton who says his name is Gaster. Luckily, he also knows how to speak in ASL so the two of them can talk with ease. Gaster has a lot of questions and luckily, Frisk has the answers he's looking for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Speaking in Hands

**Author's Note:**

> I know I kind of fell off the face of the planet since I've been focusing on my original writing, but I recently got into Undertale and I got this idea. Since Frisk never talks but the characters do I headcanon Frisk as mute and since Gaster is "The Man Who Speaks in Hands" I can't help but imagine him using ASL (even if I know that's not the reason for the name).  
> Plus I love Dadster and agender Frisk.
> 
> This is based on the moment where Frisk enters the door and Gaster is inside, but he disappears when you try and talk to him. This is what I imagine happens if he doesn't disappear.
> 
> Also, I had a feeling this scene is prior to meeting Alphys, but for all intents and purposes, I'm going to say it's after (i don't know when the scene actually occurs).
> 
> Also, they are speaking in ASL and I wasn't sure how to write it so I just did what I could do. I hope it's ok and if anybody has any tips, I'd be happy to hear them!

There was a door.

They swore it hadn’t been there before, just a white door on the purple stone. Who would even build a door in the side of a cave wall?

Then again, they had seen plenty of stuff that would be seen as strange by other humans, but they had always believed in monsters, no matter what anybody else had to say about the matter.

Their little hand grasped the handle and they swung the door open. It looked black on the inside. They figured entering the doorway was probably a bad idea, but they had gotten into worse already, what was a little more adventure?

They walked inside; their footsteps resonated on stone, but then echoed on what seemed more like concrete. The black was clearing up; the floor and walls of the small square room were a dull but dark gray, but that wasn’t really what they were looking at. There was a tall, pale being standing in the middle of the room. The figure had a black cloak on and their skin was white. They quickly realized that it wasn’t skin that was white, it was bone. Was this another skeleton?

The figure was staring at the ground, but their head began to slowly rise, and their gaze landed on Frisk. A mouth that seemed to be set almost permanently open and the dark holes of eye sockets with small white pupils that shrunk in surprise, this was definitely a skeleton. There were cracks in the skeleton’s head, both leading trails from their eyes sockets, the right one up their head and the left one down their cheek. They had been through something, looking old and worn and tired, even with the sudden spark of confusion upon Frisk’s sudden appearance.

Frisk stood in awe for a few moments, surprised by how unbelieving they felt given everything else they had seen. This still felt strange though, even with the new normalcy that was around them.

They only began to move when the skeleton seemed to be fading away, looking a little scared.

_Wait!_

The skeleton stopped almost mid phase and stared at Frisk. Slowly but surely they began to resolidify, looking down at Frisk almost questioningly. They lifted two hands (or… levitated two hands seeing as they weren’t attached to the skeleton’s body), each one with a huge hole going through the palm, and began to sign.

_You know sign language?_

They made sounds as they spoke; perhaps the skeleton spoke in a different language or… Maybe whatever had happened to them had affected more than what could be seen.

Regardless, Frisk smiled and nodded. The skeleton seemed almost relieved by that fact.

Frisk continued to sign.

_What’s your name?_

The skeleton seemed to smile at that. Their mouth seemed to be stuck in a permanent grin, almost like Sans’, but it reached their eyes this time.

 _W. D. Gaster_ , they spelled out. _Some call me the “Man Who Speaks With Hands”._

Frisk grinned at that. It seemed fitting.

 _I’m Frisk,_ the child signed. Gaster smiled.

 _That’s a nice name,_ he complimented.

Frisk kept grinning, allowing their arms a moment to rest. 

Gaster’s eyes faded a little, and Frisk’s smile faltered, growing a little worried.

 _Have you-_ Gaster paused, hands shaking ever so slightly. _Have you met anybody else?_

Frisk was confused; they wondered why Gaster would be so worried, but then again it seemed as if most things in this world were out to kill Frisk. Quite literally this world wanted them dead so the monsters could reach the surface world.

Frisk nodded. _A lot of people._  

Gaster fidgeted a little, but his hands didn’t move otherwise. 

 _Do you mind answering my questions?_ Gaster asked. 

Frisk’s mouth opened in a silent “oh”, before they quickly nodded with a small smile. Gaster’s eyes lit back up at that. 

 _Thank you_ , he signed. 

Frisk nodded in turn and awaited his questions.

 _Have you met Sans and Papyrus?_ he asked, seeming hopeful. For eyes that were merely pinpricks of white on black, they were quite expressive. 

Frisk broke out in a full grin as they nodded excitedly. _Yeah. They’re both really nice. Papyrus and I are good friends and I spent some time with Sans._  

Gaster did what was probably the Gaster version of a grin. _How are they?_  

 _They’re doing really well,_ Frisk said. _Sans has his jobs and Papyrus is training to be a member of the Royal Guard._

Gaster exhaled, almost like a sigh of relief. _Papyrus did always want to be a member of the Royal Guard, even as a child. Always wanting to protect his older brother, Sans._

Frisk grinned at that; that sounded so much like the Papyrus they had befriended. _I actually went on a date with Papyrus._  

Gaster looked surprised. _Really?_  

Frisk nodded. _It was fun, but I don’t think it was the type of relationship he was looking for. But I’m glad we’re friends. He’s really nice and fun to be around._  

Gaster was smiling again and something shone in his eyes sockets; he looked like he was about to cry.

 _Do you know Grillby?_ Gaster asked next.

Frisk nodded to that as well. _I went to his restaurant with Sans once. He seems to go there a lot and it seems to do well._

Gaster’s smile became reminiscent. _We used to go there all the time when Grillby had just opened it._  

The glimmer in his eyes seemed to fade as he thought about it. More glistening collected in his eyes sockets.

 _And-_ he paused again. His hands shook more as he gave himself time to calm. _Did the King hire a new Royal Scientist?_

Frisk nodded again, but not fervently as they had before. This was tentative. It was obvious Gaster could be set off right now.

 _Her name is Alphys,_ Frisk explained. _She’s very smart and very capable and I think she’s doing a good job._

Gaster nodded as one hand shot up to rub at his eyes sockets. It was a few moments before he was composed enough to continue. 

 _Thank you,_ he signed. _That’s all I wanted to know._

Frisk nodded, not sure what to say otherwise.

 _Can I ask a couple of favors?_ Gaster asked. 

 _Of course,_ Frisk signed. 

Gaster paused a few moments before he began to sign again. _Make sure Alphys is ok. I don’t want another accident._

Frisk just nodded again; they didn’t want to ask, it wasn’t their place to, but judging by the state that Gaster was in and a couple of things they had heard here and there, they had a feeling they knew what the accident had entailed. 

 _And also-_ There was a long, lingering pause now, Gaster’s fingers curling, trying to keep his hands under control. His eye sockets were glistening again. _If you see Sans and Papyrus again, tell them-_

He dipped his head, hands shaking violently. Frisk reached out one of their own hands and rested it against the dark cloak. It was a strange texture; almost like what you imagine a trenchcoat would feel like, but… Smokier. 

Gaster seemed surprised at the contact, but he began to calm down, resting one of his floating hands on top of Frisk’s for a few moments. 

He eventually lifted it again once it was more stable. _Tell them their dad is proud of them._

Frisk gasped, a small sound from the back of their throat, scratchy from vocal chords that hadn’t been used in a very long time. They felt their eyes began to itch.

They nodded, lifting small hands that tremored ever so slightly. They couldn’t remember the last time their hands had been so unsteady.

 _I will,_ they promised.

Then Gaster smiled again, small streams running down his white, skinless cheeks. He began to fade again before he finally disappeared. Frisk looked at where he had been a few moments longer before they finally stood and turned, walking out of the room.

They opened the door, revealing the familiar, now bright scenery of Waterfall, and stepped out. When they looked back into the room, they saw darkness again.

They closed the door and watched it fade away as well.

Frisk looked at where it had been for a few moments with a tired, worn out expression, before they gave a small sniffle, wiped their eyes, and continued on their journey.

**Author's Note:**

> So my first fanfiction after a long break. I hope it was ok.
> 
> I had a couple of other ideas (both Attack on Titan related) so if I manage to get those written you'll be seeing a little more from me.


End file.
